Nick Tomecek/Northwest Florida Daily News via AP
This coming Friday, two female lieutenants will become the first women to graduate from the US Army’s grueling Ranger program—an honor that requires all candidates to complete an intense, 62-day training course at Fort Benning in Georgia.
Training includes running at least five miles several times a week, swimming for miles in a combat uniform, finishing a 15-mile march carrying a 65-pound pack, and doing an astonishing number of push-ups in two minutes. Women had been historically excluded from Ranger school because it was thought they lacked the strength and stamina to complete the program.
Like clockwork, Kristen Griest and Shaye Haver’s history-making achievements have prompted skeptics to question whether their training might have been tweaked to defer to their feminine frailties. Did Griest and Hayer receive favorable treatment? Is the whole thing just some politically correct publicity stunt?
Thankfully, the individual behind the US Army Fort Benning’s Facebook account is proving to be quite the dauntless social media staffer, expertly shutting down the misogynist trolls who have been commenting on the page.
What do you call a woman who finishes Ranger School? A Ranger. #army pic.twitter.com/C8coXr3LLi
— Setsu Uzumé (@KatanaPen) August 19, 2015
